Engine.



L. H. R. ROGGE.

ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 21, 1915.

Patented May 2, 1916.

INVENTOR Louis /7 R Royye WITNESSES A TTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT omoE.

MUIS H. B. BOGGE, OF BEBNHEIKEB,

ENGINE.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LOUIS H. R. Rooe a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bernheimer, in the county of Warren and State of Missouri, have invented a new and Improved Engine, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.,

My invention relates to engines and admits of general use, but is of particular value in connection with power engines using steam, gas, air or other elastic me- More particularly stated, my invention comprises an engine cylinder bu1lt u 1n sections each adapted to be inflated an deflated so that the cylinderas a whole expands and contracts and thus applies power to azcrank shaft or the like.

While my invention may be used in a eat variety of engines it is well adapted r service upon internal combustion engines and may be used not only for applying the power of the stroke to the mechanism to be driven, but also for compression, scavenging and all other purposes for which a cylinder would ordinarily be used.

In the particular instance here contemplated I disclose the invention as applied to a four-cycle internal combustion engine.

Reference is made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like letters indicate like parts.

Figure 1 is a cross-section through the device; Fig. 2 is a' fragmentary section showing the composite cylinder and parts immediately associated therewith; and Fig. 3 is a plan view of. one of the sectional units of which the cylinder is made up.

A crank casing appears at 4 and is provided with a depending portion 5 connected to it by bolts 6. The crank casing is pro-- vided with feet 7 upon which its weight rests, and it is also provided with a pair of horizontally disposed flan es 8. A cylinder casing 9 is provided wit a head 10 and with openings 10" in this head. By aid of bolts 8 the head 10 is secured to the flanges 8. A crank shaft is shown at 11 and a crank at 12. .A connecting rod 13 is connected to this crank and is also connected with a sliding rod 15. For this purpose a pivot pin 14 extends through the sliding rod and the connecting rod. The head- 10 is provided with a thickened portion 16 of Specification of Letters Patent.

. substantially annular form which serves as a gufide for the sliding rod 15. This guide is o sufiicient distance along the sliding rod 15 to hold this rod in true alinement under all conditions to which it may be subjected. The cylinder casing 9 is provided with an end wall 9 having a massive middle portion 17, and a mixing chamber 18 is formed within this massive portion. A spark plug 19 extends into the mixing chamber. A pair of rocking valves'20, 21 are provided, and adjacent these rocking valves are ports 22, 23, which are opened and closed by rocking movements of the valves. The mixing chamber 18, the rocking valves 20, 21, the ports 22 and 23 and the spark plug 19 may not differ materially from analogous parts now in use upon internal combustion engines.

Secured to'the end wall 9 is a threaded sleeve 24 which opens directly into the mixing chamber 18, as may be understood from Fig. 2. The sleeve 24 is provided with an annular flange 25 integral with. it. i A diaphragm 26 made of concentrically corrugated sheet metal has a general circular form and is provided with a middle portion 27 of annular form, the latter being secured to the flange 25. flange 25 and theannular portion 27, however, is a gasket 28 of asbestos or other heat-insulating material. A ring 29 made of metal is secured by fastenings 30 to the outer edge of the diaphragm 26. Another diaphragm 31, similar to the diaphragm 26, is connected "at its outer edge to the ring 29 byaid of fastenings 30. Any reasonable number of diaphragms 26, 31, connected together by rings 29 as above described and as shown in Fig. 2, may be employed. Connected with an annular middle portion 31 of each diaphragm 31, is a sleeve 32 which is threaded externally and is provided with a flange 33 of annular form. Fitted upon the threaded sleeve 32 is a threaded sleeve 34, the latter being provided with an annular flange 35. Disposed between this annular flange 'and the adjacent annular Patented May 2,1916. Application filed July 81, 1915. Serial No. 41,080.

massive construction and extends a c Inter-posed between' the portion 31 of the diaphragm 31 is a gasket similar to the diaphragms 31 above de- I the connections therebetween, and the rings 29, together constitute'a composite cylinder which may be expanded and contracted in the general direction of the length of the portion of each diaphragm 26 is comparamy invention.

common axis of all of the d1aphragms.\ With the cylinder expanded the parts appear as indicated in Fig. 2. With the cylinder contracted the various parts'appear as shown in Fig. 1. Essentially the cylinder is built up of separate units each of which ex- .pands and contracts along its general axis.

When the units are contracted the middle tively close to the middle portion of the companion diaphragm 31 Or 31 forming a part of the same section. When, however, the cylinder is expanded, as indicated in Fig. 2, the middle portion ofeach section is at a comparatively great distance from the middle portion of the mating or companion diaphragm of the same section.- The composite cylinder thus constructed may be expanded by the gases of explosions occurring within the explosion chamber 18, orby mechanical action of the crank 12, depending upon the condition of the engine at the particular moment when the cylinder is expanded. Such being the case, the cylinder may be employedv for compression or for purposes of scavenging in practically the same manner as the cylinder of any other internal combustion engine.

It will be noted that in my construction I do not employ any piston or any part analogous to a piston; Neither are there any slidable packin'gs, nor any sliding parts which are subjected directly to gas pressure. The internal diameter of the sleeves 24 and 32 is small as compared with the internal diameter of the rings 29. I do not limit myself, however, to the precise proportions here shown for the various parts. Neither do I limit myself to the exact construction here disclosed, as variations may be made therefrom without departing from-the spirit of Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A device of the character described comprising a cylinder casing provided with a mixing chamber and with valves communicating with said mixing chamber, a sleeve carried by said cylinder casing and communicating with said mixin chamber, a flexible diaphragm within t e casing and connected at its approximate middle ortion with said sleeve and .having a genera diameter greater than the internaldiameter of said sleeve, a ring connected with said diaphragm at the outer edge thereof, another diaphragm connected with said ring and movable relatively to said first mentioned diaphragm and also free to flex relatively to the same, .and mechanism for transmitting motion from said last mentioned diaphragm to a shaft for delivering power.

enginecylinder comprising a cas ingprovided with an explosion chamber, a plurality of sectional units in the casing, said units beingconnected together and provided with flexible diaphragms, whereby said sectional units may each be expanded and contracted in a predetermined direction so that the total expansion and contraction of the various units is cumulative, a sliding rod connected to one of said sectional movement in the casing and secured to said sliding rod, and a crank shaft connected to said connecting rod and in operative relation thereto.

3. In an en ine, a support having a'chamber at one en and a guide at its other end, valves controlling the admission of an elastic medium into the said chamber, a plurality of expansible units carried by the support,

said units communicating with each other and one of them with the said chamber, a sliding rod secured to the unit remote from the chamber and working in the guide of the casing, a crank shaft, and a connecting rod connected to the crank shaft and hav' a. pivotal connection with the sliding rod.

4. An engine, comprising a cylindrical casing having a chamber on its top and a guide in its bottom, a valve on each side of the said chamber, a crank case secured to the bottom of the cylindrical casin and communicating therewith, a crank sha in the crank case, a connecting rod secured to the crank shaft, a plurality of expansible units in the cylindrical casing, one below the other and communicating with one another, the uppermost unit being in communication with the said chamber, a sliding rod secured to the lowermost unit, said rod sliding in the guide and 

